1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a method of using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that prints an image by matching a print start location of a medium with an image forming line, and a method of forming an image using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
When printing an image on a medium, the image needs to be located accurately at a predetermined location of the medium. In particular, a medium for printing photographs includes a printing area on which an image is printed and a non-printing area on top and bottom of the printing area. The non-printing area may also be formed on both side edges of the printing area. The printing area and the non-printing area are typically divided via perforated or dotted lines. An image is printed slightly larger than the printing area, and if the non-printing area is torn or cut along the perforated or dotted lines, a borderless printed image just like a developed photograph is obtained. In this case, the image has to start printing exactly from a print start location of the medium if the image is to be borderlessly printed without any loss. Additionally, even in a general printing process, the image has to be printed starting precisely from the print start location of the medium to print the image without any loss. If the image is printed before the print start location, the top region of the image can be lost and if the image is printed below the print start location, the bottom region of the image can be lost.
When printing a color image, a medium is repeatedly moved back and forth to superimpose cyan, magenta, and yellow images. If the print start locations of the cyan, magenta, and yellow images are not identical, the cyan, magenta, and yellow images will not accurately overlap with one another, thereby resulting in a poor quality color image.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved image forming apparatus and a method that provides quality color images without image loss.